We thoroughly enjoyed this experience from the “Welcome Home” greeting to the “Come Home soon again”. Our party of three all concurred that this restaurant is an absolute must when in the Rosebank / Houghton area if you are looking for fine dining with a distinctively South African Flavor. Off course everyone would and should be excited to eat in Tata Mandela’s Houghton home base, but we can attest that you can also count on some good food.
The ambience is great with all the Madiba memories on the walls in particular the 1990’s, transporting us back to a good time in our country’s history. They might consider reducing the lighting in the restaurant area ever so slightly to add even more to the wonderful atmosphere.
We started off with some drinks and a highlight to mention here was the Rosemary Spritzer, utterly refreshing without the sour taste that you sometimes get when ordering something similar – amazing! The Roasted Root Vegetable Salad was refreshing yet comforting. We loved the fresh veggies that was balanced superbly by the garlic yogurt and coriander dressing. For the main we had the Vegan Lentil Bobotie which got the green light as being delicious by our picky vegan daughter who by the way is not a big fan of traditional bobotie. My husband and I had the Braised Short Rib and oh my what a treat! The short rib was cooked to perfection (melting in the mouth) accompanied by a very tasty sauce that complemented the combination with the samp and sugar beans.
We ended our meal with the Dark Chocolate Malva which I can only describe as being a gorgeous medley dark chocolate Malva, ice-cream, and charred marshmallows – these were chewy and to die for. The service started off as exceptional with just a slight slump later as the restaurant got very busy.

We were slow to depart and will definitely visit "home" again.

Welcome home
We received a warm “welcome home” as soon as we stepped into the building which you could feel had a lot of history about it.

Bread course was a slice of milk bread with well seasoned herb butter.

Starters
Cape Malay mussels - The flavourful cape Malay curry sauce beautifully complimented slightly sweet taste of mussels, with slices of toast adding crunch and a vessel to scoop up all the delicious sauce.

Roasted root vegetables - The choice of naturally sweet beetroot and mixture of carrots paired well with the creamy garlic yogurt. Crispy roasted carrot tips brought some nice crunch to the plate.

Mains
Cauliflower steak had a good sear on it without being soft and overcooked. The mixed grain pilau was fragrant and had plenty of texture with the grilled lime adding extra zing.

The red wine braised beef short rib on a base samp and beans was homely and moreish that felt like a big hug for the soul. The meat fell of the bone and the carrots brought some crunch and natural sweetness.

Dessert
The rooibos panna cotta was perfectly set with a good punch of rooibos flavour. The orange segment balanced well with the honey drizzle on the plate while honeycomb and koeksister bites brought different textures to the dish.

Highlight was the tour of the house
Mandela used while president that was included in the meal.

The home-brewed rosemary and citrus spritzer is highly recommend.